The first set is standard fare with a nice TMNS closer. But as is generally acknowledged, the second set is the meat of this meat and potatoes show and has been in my collection for a long, long time. As a Jazz cowboy, Shakedown has never been a favorite. But the following troica of Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' always has been. And this energetic Dark Star is very strong and muscular unlike quiet, gentle, and lyrical ones like 11/11/73 and 9/27/72 - certainly being affected by that powerful trilogy preceding it. The Wharf Rat > St. Stephen is really nice coming out of Drums > Space.

I have a creativity in me that I just can’t shake. And I love this Dark Star so much, I want to hear it right out of the box. I also love blowout endings to second sets where Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' fits the bill perfectly if you have them transitioning out of St. Stephen, which stops on a dime to go into R&R. Well, wouldn’t you know it that the crowd at the end of St. Stephen and the crowd at the beginning of Good Lovin’ match perfectly. So what's a guy gonna do with having such a perfect opportunity to mix a perfectly fab custom setlist (for me anyway)?

I just couldn’t help myself in flipping the script. And if you have the music editing software to do this cleanly, try mixing this 1:01:58 run -- Dark Star > Drums > Space > Wharf Rat > St. Stephen > Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin'. It’s a wholelotta fun!

This is one of the best Dead shows I ever saw. It has a great progression. The Promised Land opener is a very undistinguished version of the song, but I remember hearing something very subtle in Jerry's playing that made think something was going to happen that evening. Most of the first set is just good ole' fun bar-band Grateful Dead. Then, when they break into Loser, things start to get serious.

The 2nd set explodes right out of the gate with a powerhouse Shakedown St. followed by a high energy Miracle/Bertha/Good Lovin's trilogy. Then comes the mind-melting Dark Star. Everything just flowed perfectly from there.

This is one of my favorite shows of the 70 that I saw between 73-95. I caught all 4 shows that week, the 2 at MSG and the next night at Nassau, the MSG shows were OK but this was the keeper, great long first set - loved the band when they were not in any hurry to finish the first set. Second set is an epic all time great with a hot Shakedown Street (Phil adds after - "that was Shakedown Street and you know it well!). Miracle / Bertha/ Good Lovin might have been played a lot during that time but that is a great combo , would much rather hear than Sailor/Saint!! When they started Dark Star my jaw dropped this would be the only time I heard it live, and was just as it should be, long and spacey. I was behind the stage during the song, and drums/space, since Nassau was smaller than some other arenas it was a great place to see the rhythm devils. Wharf Rat & St Stephen - I never got a chance to hear some of the songs the Dead played (Watchtower was one) but I was lucky enough to hear St Stephen played 5 times. Nassau had some great shows, had that great New York energy plus the parking lot scene that was missed at MSG. This show, the fall 79 shows, the May 1980 run, and 5/6/81, all great times for the band, and us too.

I love this Dark Star. I've just listen to this and the News Years one 10 days early - this one's better! Some might say I'm crazy, but it's true!

The rest of the show is dynomite!

One of my all time favorite shows. Great from start to finish. So grateful to see this show. The Dark Star and St. Stephen (both rare for this period of time) speak for themselves. The Shakedown Street to open the 2nd set really set the tone. The drums after Dark Star were one of a handful I saw that really kept me engaged.

Forever grateful to Mr. Miller for bringing this and so many other shows back to life

This show is in a class of it's own. Fantastic guitar work from Garcia and a dream set list.
Music Never Stopped could be the best ever. Dark Star is special, no doubt.Miracle is perfect AND this is the last great Saint Stephen. Jerry was on a mission from November through January...

nothing else to say

to CM. Listening to this right now, and it's close enough to the real thing to sing its praises. Excellent.

Not 100 perecent sure of this yet.... I think this is the very last time Jerry ever sang sweet suzie. one of my favorite lines in Loser.

The correct patch source is actually Nakamichi 300/CP1 mics.

Just to be clear, this recording was made FRONT OF BOARD with TWO Sony 54P Microphones. There was a THIRD microphone. It was a SINGLE Sennheiser 441. They were all fed into a Nakamichi 550 where the blend was performed. The stereo mixdown feed went into Bob Wagner's Sony TC-158SD Stereo Cassette Deck.

Here is a picture of Bob Wagner's Cassette Master with the description: http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll91/charliemiller87/CIMG4574.jpg